There’s no doubt that the novel coronavirus pandemic spelled the end for many retailers, resulting in a record number of store closings in 2020. In what ways have you seen retailers emerging as stronger operators after making it through the first nine months of the pandemic?

“Change actually starts from within each one of us,” Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon said last week at a keynote address at CES 2021. “Our biases, conscious and unconscious, need to be dealt with individually and collectively.” What’s holding back faster progress for retailers with diversity and inclusion programs?

Marc Lore, who has often been credited with jumpstarting Walmart’s digital evolution, is leaving the discount giant after five years.  How much headway has Walmart made competing with Amazon  over the last five years?

Walmart has announced a planned pilot of temperature-controlled smart boxes that will be placed outside the homes of customers. Do you think the smart box technology that Walmart plans to test or something like it will be accepted by large numbers of American consumers?

Walmart announced that it is creating a new fintech startup with venture capital firm Ribbit Capital, to develop and automate “tech-driven financial experiences tailored to” the needs of its customers and associates. Do you expect Walmart’s new venture with Ribbit Capital to turn the retailer into a driving force in the fintech sector?

Offering refunds without requiring the return is being adopted more broadly by retailers during the pandemic, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Does it make sense to offer refunds without requiring a return for certain items?

Instacart helped grocers meet unprecedented demand throughout the pandemic, but some grocers are finding a weakness — they’re not making any money. What factors do you think will influence retailers’ decisions to use Instacart vs. using other third-party delivery services or building in-house delivery?

A just-released study from Lewis, a San Francisco-based marketing agency, found two in three of Forbes top 300 CEOs had no active social media presence. Do you see more benefits than drawbacks for retail CEOs being active on social media?

The Trump administration on Tuesday sued Walmart for helping fuel the nation’s opioid epidemic by ignoring suspicious prescriptions. To what degree are pharmacies responsible for questionable prescriptions?

Walmart on Monday announced a partnership with FedEx to offer customers complimentary at-home pickup of returns for merchandise bought online. Does picking up returns from households for free hold significant appeal for consumers and is it an economically feasible strategy for retailers?

With the FDA’s emergency approval late Friday of a vaccine co-developed by Pfizer, the nation is now counting on retail to help execute the nation’s most ambitious vaccination campaign in history. What will be the obvious and less obvious challenges facing retailers in their role administering COVID-19 vaccinations?

Fad toys get hot and profiteers scoop in to buy and resell at astronomical markups online. This year, scalpers have brought a whole new level of technological sophistication to their operations What are the best methods that retailers can use to combat the use of scalper bots?

Walmart announced that members of its Walmart+ subscription plan will no longer be required to make a $35 minimum purchase to qualify for free next-day and two-day shipping on online orders. Will the removal of a purchase minimum aid Walmart’s push to add members to its Walmart+ program?

MBLM’s newly-released “Brand Intimacy Study,” which ranks brands based on their emotional connections, found the retail industry moving from fourth to third out of 10 industries as the pandemic made retailers more “essential.” In what ways has COVID-19 opened up opportunities for retailers to nurture greater loyalty with consumers?

Walmart announced last week the launch of  Walmart Pet Care, an omnichannel program that offers pet insurance and services such as dog-walking and pet sitting. Can Walmart effectively negate some of the perceived service advantages offered by pet speciality rivals by partnering with third-party providers such as Petplan and Rover?

The strong simply continue to get stronger in the retailing world of 2020. Two prime cases in point are Target and Walmart. What do you see as the relative strengths of Target and Walmart at this point in time?

Walmart has carved out space in 42 of its U.S. regional distribution centers (RDCs) to create “pop-up e-commerce distribution centers” (eDCs) to support online delivery of fast-sellers this holiday selling season. What benefits do you see in a pop-up changeover approach to distribution centers to handle spikes in online selling?

When Walmart’s customers in Scottsdale, AZ place their home delivery orders early next year, they may find their groceries arriving in a self-driving electric car. Are retailers and their technology partners getting close to making self-driving delivery services a reality on a widespread basis?

Last week, Trader Joe’s announced that 1,250, or 2.4 percent, of its 53,000 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past eight months. Was Trader Joe’s decision to reveal its COVID-19 infection rates and deaths shrewd or excessive?

Walmart has experimented with the use of robots for carrying out a number of functions on sales floors and back rooms, but at least one of those experiments is about to end. Will Walmart’s decision to scrap the use of robots for taking in-store inventory influence how other retailers approach the technology?

Walmart is converting four stores into laboratories to serve “as both physical shopping destinations and online fulfillment centers in a way that has yet to be seen across the retail industry,” according to a company blog post. Do Walmart’s working lab stores represent a breakthrough for the company?

The core fundamentals of assuring a positive curbside and in-store pickup experience are: having a designated pickup location, easy online account creation, providing contactless order pickup and having orders ready when promised, according to a study from Ipsos. What pain points in the curbside and BOPIS experience have become more evident during the pandemic?

Amazon is coming off a record-setting Prime Day performance and following it with Holiday Dash Deals, an ongoing sales promotion that will deliver “Black Friday-worthy” savings to its customers leading up to Christmas. What impact do you expect Prime Day and promotions run by retailers this week to have on their Christmas season sales?

Walmart is taking part in a pilot program to test the viability of offering consumer electronics and technology services to its customers at a fraction of what similar services such as Best Buy’s Geek Squad cost. Is there a compelling business need for Walmart’s tech repair service offering?

Walmart has introduced a new store design to help millions of customers who shop at its supercenters every year reap the full advantages of the “omni-shopping experience.” Does Walmart’s new store design align with how Americans are shopping today?

The Christmas selling season is kicking off earlier than ever and Walmart announced on Wednesday its plans to meet the needs of its customers at this time. Do you approve of Walmart’s decision to eliminate one-way traffic in its aisles in light of concerns raised by health professionals about the spread of COVID-19 in the fall and winter?

With the elevated environmental risks posed by this year’s hurricane and wildfire seasons in the U.S. as a backdrop, Walmart, Amazon.com and REI this week launched major climate change initiatives. How large a role will retailers and the overall consumer products industry likely play in helping to highlight and battle climate change?

The pandemic has forced changes on how we live, how we shop and now it seems it could impact how we build houses. The home of the future might be built with e-commerce in mind.  Will rooms in homes dedicated to receiving e-commerce packages become popular enough to change how deliveries are made in the U.S.?

A Bloomberg article on Walmart tells the story of an unintended consequence that arose as a result of the retailer’s commitment to greater gender diversity. How can large retail organizations achieve diversity objectives without unintended negative consequences?

Will a new more upscale men’s and women’s private clothing label help elevate Walmart’s fashion sales? That’s the question after the retailer announced the launch of Free Assembly, a new 55-piece line offering “high-quality pieces” at prices between $9 and $45. Will Walmart’s Free Assembly line be a hit?

Walmart has launched a drone pilot program to test on-demand delivery in North Carolina, the state where the Wright brothers first took flight with their powered aircraft in 1903.  Does Walmart’s drone test signal that the timetable for making deliveries in this way is being substantially moved up?

Walmart introduced an online focus group of kids to rate toys, rolled out an interactive tool that lets kids and parents try out toys virtually and came up with a “hottest toys” list influenced by pandemic-related behavior shifts. Are you more optimistic or pessimistic that the toy category will see gains this holiday selling season?

A characteristic of companies achieving the most value from investments in artificial intelligence are executives able to articulate the role of AI in their business. How would you prioritize developing an artificial intelligence strategy amid competing priorities in the current retailing environment?

Walmart announced yesterday that it would join Microsoft in its bid to acquire TikTok’s business in the U.S. Microsoft is also bidding to buy TikTok’s Canadian, Australian and New Zealand operations. What would acquiring TikTok with Microsoft mean for Walmart’s U.S. business?

Walmart Wellness Live, a three-day online health and wellness event, will kick off on Friday with the goal of providing customers with simple ways to improve their lives through better nutrition, exercise and mental health activities. Are American consumers at this time looking for more health content online from retailers and brands?

Walmart’s second-quarter numbers did not disappoint investors. The chain reported same-store sales were up 9.3 percent and online sales jumped 97 percent. What is your assessment of Walmart’s progress on its “path to transform into an omnichannel organization?”

The biggest retailer and the largest online grocery delivery service in the U.S. are teaming up in a pilot program that, if expanded nationwide, could have major ramifications for the industry as a whole. Do you see Walmart+ and Instacart deliveries being able to coexist or will the retailer choose one option over the other?

Because of the pandemic, some retailers with liberal return policies were forced to make all or most sales final. At Walmart, in-store returns remain unavailable, and some customers have gotten irate about it. Given the complaints, should Walmart consider liberalizing or changing its in-store return policy for the duration of the pandemic?

Ron Margulis did a small study on ecommerce success on a drive down the New Jersey Turnpike, counting the brand names on the trucks along the way. Which retailers do you think have made the most significant gains based on their ecommerce performance going back to March?

The list of retailers opening stores on Thanksgiving Day has been growing for years, but 2020 has one notable exception as Walmart has announced that it will close its namesake and Sam’s Club stores on that day.  How likely are other large retailers that have opened on Thanksgiving Day in past years to follow Walmart’s lead and close in 2020?

Rivals CVS, Kroger, Target, Walgreens and Walmart have joined together in a consortium focused on finding a better, more eco-friendly solution to America’s plastic bag waste problem.. Do you think a consortium such as this can be successful in finding a sustainable alternative to plastic bag use?

There’s good news for fans of Netflix’s “Queer Eye” reality show who also love low everyday prices. Walmart has just announced the debut of an exclusive home furnishings line inspired by the show’s Fab Five. How likely is the Queer Eye home furnishings line to be a hit with Walmart’s customers?

The doctor is in at Walgreens. The pharmacy chain announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with VillageMD to locate between 500 and 700 primary care doctor’s offices in its stores over the next five years. How much of an effect will the widespread launch of the Village Medical at Walgreens concept have on the drugstore retailer’s business?

More than half of Walmart’s top customers have Amazon Prime memberships. Walmart wants them all to itself as it prepares to officially launch Walmart+. How important is it for Walmart’s business to attract the 50 percent of its most important customers who have Amazon Prime memberships to the Walmart+ plan?

Walmart announced plans to turn some of its parking lots into drive-in movie theaters and host its first Camp by Walmart, featuring celebrities who would take kids through a virtual camp experience. What marketing and merchandising opportunities do the entertaining-at-home and staycation trends offer retailers?

As consumers have navigated their way through stay-at-home and social distancing restrictions during the pandemic, a new study says Amazon’s web traffic has soared, but other retailers are up even more. Why do you think Amazon’s major competitors have gained more traffic than it did during the stay at home period?

Supermarket chains have stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic with added safety measures, pay and benefits to support frontline workers. But a new analysis by Oxfam concludes they haven’t done enough. Do you agree or disagree with Oxfam’s analysis that large grocery chain operators are not doing enough for frontline workers?

Instacart, which has seen orders catapult as much as 500 percent during the pandemic, has secured a $13.7 billion valuation in a new funding round, up from $8 billion after the last round in 2018. Has Instacart proven itself as the delivery partner for grocery with its response to the pandemic?

Trade show display company Hatch Exhibits watched as big gatherings nationwide were shut down, and pivoted to making personal protective equipment. Now the firm has decided to not only stick with the business, but launch a brick-and-mortar store. Can a retailer succeed by focusing solely on branded, fashionable or niche-targeted PPE?

Walmart is serious about growing its online marketplace business. The retailer has teamed up with Shopify to enable sellers from the platform to sell their goods on walmart.com. What is your take on the significance of the Walmart/Shopify deal?